His calling card describes him as a psychic medium, clairvoyant, tarot and runes reader.

The Chronicle can reveal the former fitness teacher was jailed for six months in December 2001 for a #26,000 incapacity benefit scam.

He failed to declare a part time job he had while claiming benefits.

Conniff-Martin, a former fitness instructor at Gateshead college, told the court: "The money was handed over to me by other people and I would count it at the end of the day. I was told the money was for a children's cancer charity and as far as I'm aware that's where it went."

He insisted: "It isn't fortune telling I do, I've been a member of the Spiritualist Church since I was 14 and I'm a psychic medium.

"I live in a semi-detached council house and since my mother died I've been struggling financially, and with being motivated.

"I was looking for employment in sports medicine at the time I was claiming the benefits but I now know I should have declared I was doing the voluntary work when I claimed the Jobseekers Allowance."

The latest inquiry centres on a period between April 2002 until he was arrested in April last year.

Benefit fraud investigators were tipped off by an anonymous call to a confidential hotline.

In the first inquiry, which led to a jail term in 2001, Newcastle Crown Court was told Conniff-Martin had fraudulently obtained thousands of pounds in benefit by claiming he was too sick to work.

But he had received payments legitimately when he was unemployed.

For around five years he dishonestly received benefit. He was jailed the first time after admitting 11 counts of deception and asked for 245 similar offences to be considered.

In his defence at the time, Peter Schofield described him as a vulnerable personality who suffered from a nervous disability.

He had legitimately claimed benefit after returning to the North East from London to look after his ailing mother.

As a former Round Table chairman, Conniff-Martin had given a lot of time to charity and was regarded as a "well-respected" lecturer when he earned #10,000 a year.

The court heard Conniff-Martin had claimed #986 in housing benefit and #2,600 in Jobseekers Allowance which he was not entitled to.

There were 16 other matters to be taken into consideration, involving #107.90 in Jobseekers Allowance. After the case a spokesman for Operation Link said: "We are very happy with the result and pleased the courts agreed he was guilty of benefit fraud."

Anyone with information on alleged benefit fraud can contact the hotline on (0191) 200 6578.